thorens



Patented Sept. 6, I898.

H. THORENS.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL TOY.

(Application filed Apr. 30, 1897.)

2 Sheefs-Sheet (No Model.)

INVEN TO]? M W W WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

N0. 6l0,29l.

(No Model.)

Patented Sept. 6, I898.

H. THDRENS.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL TOY.

(Application filed Apr. 30, 1897.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

ATTORNEYS.

NITED STATES I'IERMANN THORENS, OF ST. CROIX, SWITZERLAND.

MECHANICAL M USICAL TOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,291, datedSeptember 6, 1898.

Application filed p 1189'7. Serial No. 634.630. (No model.) Patented inGermany July 29, 1890, No. 56,996, and in Switzerland August 1, 1890,No. 2,460. l

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMANN THORENS, a resident of St. Oroix,Switzerland, have inv'ented certain new and useful Improvements inMechanical Musical Toys, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent inSwitzerland, dated August 1, 1890, No. 2,460, and in Germany, dated July29, 1890, No. 56,996,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanical musical toys; and said invention hasfor its object to produce a simple, cheap, and efficient mechanicalmusical toy wherein there is little liability of the parts being brokenor disarranged.

To this end my invention consists in the novel arrangement andcombination of parts and to certain details hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part hereof, and wherein likeletters indicate corresponding parts in the various views Figure 1 is aperspective view, with parts broken away, of a mechanical musical toyembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same onthe line 2 2 of Fig. 1, with parts broken away for purposes of clearerillustration. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on the line 3 3 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail plan view of the soundproducingdevice and its operating mechanism, taken on the line l 4 of Fig. 5.Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same on the line 5 5 ofFig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail fragmentary view of portions of thedevice to be hereinafter described.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, Aindicates thebed-plate or base of the device, upon which is or may be mounted asound-producing device a,which in the present instance consists of acomb of vibrating music-tongues which are sounded by a notebarrel 1), asis usual in Swiss music-boxes. To the note-barrel b is connected aratchetwheel a. In line with the axis of the notebarrel are pivotedpawl-carrying levers d cl, which are provided with elongated slots enear the free or outer ends thereof. These pawl-carrying levers areprovided with pivoted pawls f, each of which connects with a pin g,entering a slot in a pawl-carrying lever. To each of these pins isconnected a lever h, which is itself connected with a vibratory platformor piece B, which is hinged, as at 00, and is maintained normally in theelevated position by a spring z. It will be observed that by thisarrangement the vibration of the hinged or vibratory piece or platform Bwill cause the pawls to alternately engage and disengage theratchet-wheel c-that is to say, a movement of the vibratory piece in onedirection will cause a'pawl to engage a ratchet wheel, while a movementof the vibratory piece in an opposite direction will cause the same pawlto be disengaged, so that a noiseless pawl-and-ratchet driving mechanismis provided. To the vibratory piece B is connected one arm of thebell-crank lever 11, which is pivoted to the base or bed-plate A, theother arm of said bell-crank lever i being connected with a link j,which connects an arm 70, carried by a central spindle C, which passesup into the body of a figure D, preferably mounted upon the vibratorypiece or platform B. Slotted arms Zare carried by this spindle and areeach engaged by one arm of a bell -crank lever m, the other or free endof each of said bellcrank levers passing to a movable part of thefigure-in the presentinstance to one of the legs n thereof. This spindlemay be further connected with movable parts of the figure, as by aprojecting arm or connection 0, which connects with one of the arms ofthe figure,

or by a bell-crank lever 19, one arm of which is engaged in a slottedarm q, carried by the spindle O, the other or free end of the bellcranklever 19 connecting with an arm of the moved so as to appear to play themusical' instrument held in the hands of 'the figure. The legs of thefigure will likewise be moved so that the feet will alternately strikeupon the platform and apparently keep time with the music played by themusical instrument or sounding device on the interior of the device. Thehead of the figure will at the same time be constantly in motion duringthe vibration of the platform.

Having described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

1. In a mechanical musical toy, the combination of a sound-producingdevice, a notebarrel for operating said sound-producing device, aratchet-wheel connected with said note-barrel, a lever carrying a pawlwhich is adapted to engage the ratchet-wheel, and a vibrating platformhaving a figure supported thereon, said platform being connected withthe pawl-carrying lever to operate the notebarrel, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a mechanical musical toy, the combination of a sound-producingdevice, a notebarrel for operating said sound-producing device, aratchet-wheel connected with said note-barrel, a plurality of leversextending to opposite sides of said ratchet-wheel and each carrying apivoted pawl, an operating-lever independent of the pawl-supportinglever directly connected to each of said paWls and with a vibratorypiece, whereby a movement of each of said operating-levers in onedirection will cause a pawl to be engaged with the ratchet-wheel while amovement thereof in the opposite direction will cause a pawl to bedisengaged from and thrown out of contact with said ratchet-wheel,substantially as described.

3. In a mechanical. musical toy, the combination of a sound-producingdevice, a notebarrel for operating the said sound-producing device, aratchet-wheel connected with said note-barrel, a plurality of leverspivoted in line with the axis of the note-barrel and extending toopposite sides thereof, a slot in and a pivoted pawl carried by each ofsaid levers, operating-levers, each of which is connected with a pinwhich connects with a pawl and projects into a slot in a pawl-carryinglever, a vibratory piece which is connected with said operating-lever tooperate the sound-producing device, a figure and connections betweenportions of said figure and the vibratory piece, whereby a movement ofthe vibratory piece will cause a simultaneous op eration of thesound-producing device, and a movement of parts of the figure,substantially as described.

HERMANN THOR-ENS. lVitnesses:

W. BRIERE,

XV. CUENOD.

